Gastrodon of the East and West
by TheMightySwick
Summary: Pollution of the oceans has caused the blue Gastrodon and Shellos of the East Sea to leave their waters in search of a new home, when they encroach upon the pink Gastrodon and Shellos of the West Sea, there is much hostility between the two Pokemon variants putting all of the deep-sea Pokemon in jeopardy, but... pollution continues to eat away at the sea. How will they survive?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Pokemon or any of its' characters. This is a fan-based creation and is not endorsed or funded or by any means meant to make a profit. This piece of fiction is solely for entertainment purposes. Please read, review, and enjoy.  
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At the bottom of the ocean, a lone Gastrodon shifted uneasily in the sand, staring up through the murky waters at the ever warping reflection of the light of the moon overhead. He had seen the tides and currents turn time and time again watching generations of his fellow blue Gastrodon grow and die time and time again. Before, their only true worry was the fell hook of Pokemon Trainers above the water, trapping and catching their kind within Pokeballs and making the Gastrodon do who knows what! - but that was easily avoided if you knew what to watch out for. This new problem though was becoming harder and harder to avoid, and could no longer be avoided for risk of losing their entire population. The seas were not the calm warm waters he had known as a little slug long ago, but had become a cold vast wastland... and all thanks to the 'creeping black water'. Now, he was watching young Shellos and Gastrodon in their prime mysterious collapse and die within the same sands he had grown...

They were not the only Pokemon dying. The old Gastrodon had seen the corpses of Corsola, Clamperls and others among his own. It seemed that anything that tried to thrive in the sands that the creeping black water had sifted itself into died within days. There wasn't a chance of the sea Pokemon adapting to this strange new ... thing.

The Gastrodon continued to shift in the sand, rippling his foot membrane and tossing grains of sand all over and around him in frustration. What was worse than an invader in your homeland was an invader you couldn't even put a name to. He was looked upon as a leader, an alpha, among his fellow Gastrodon, and they had all come to him for answers surrounding the mystery... but in all of his knowledge, the old Gastrodon knew not what to do.

"We are leaving," said a voice beside him.

It startled the Gastrodon so that he retracted his gelatinous head inwards on itself- a natural shock response- and when the sand finally floated to the bottom and the waters cleared, he eased his head up again and greeted the newcomer.

It was an elderly Kingler with a gathering of other Kingler and Krabby behind him...

"The sea is rejecting us. If we value our lives, we cannot stay any longer."

Gastrodon nodded, "It would seem that way, King Crush."

King Crush, the leader of the Kingler and Krabby, sighed sending a stream of bubbles upward, "As your friend, Azul, I suggest you and your kind do the same. It won't be long now before the creeping black water is in even this sand. We must find more accepting waters..."

"These seas have been our home since the Alpha Arceus... it is hard to simply abandon our homeland..."

"I understand," replied King Crush, looking somber, "It is hard for me too... but I have to think about what is best for our kind. If we stay here, we will die... Goodbye, Azul. We will never forget the kindness of the Shellos and Gastrodon. Kyogre guide you."

"Kyogre guide you," Azul said the blessing back.

More clouds of sand were kicked up violently in the air as the gathering of Krabby and Kingler shuffled nosily through the sand out into the empty open blue ocean. Their spidery legs making soft click-clicking noise on the shell and rock beneath them. By the time the sand cleared enough for the old Gastrodon Azul to see again, they had vanished without a trace... like they had been nothing more than ghosts. The great blue of the ocean like a fog surrounded them...

Azul gazed skyward once more at the rippling full moon. He muttered a clumsy prayer to himself, and then retired to his home to rest for the long and stressful morning that was sure to come.


	2. Chapter 2

The following morning, Azul described the late night encounter with King Crush of the Krabby and Kingler to his wife, children, and grandchildren, and told them of their planned migration to the western seas.

His oldest son Shell called the old Gastrodon crazy and verbally lashed him for his lack of pride in the waters that he had called his home ever since he had been hatched from his egg. Azul took these insults in stride; it was definitely a hard decision to pick up your entire family and livelihood on a hunch that things were not going to get better. The odds seemed against the Gastrodon and Shellos though.

Azul remembered the days of bounty, where harvesting particles of sea plants and small krill-like pokemon from the depths of the sand was far too easy for a hungry Shellos or Gastrodon. The sand so rich in nutrients that the eastern sea exploded with life. Bottom feeders like the Shellos and Gastrodon, Krabby and Kingler, Shellder and Cloysters thrived, attracting larger more complex pokemon - the Remoraid, Magikarp, and Goldeen- which were feasted upon by the carnivorous Carvanha, Basculin, and Crawdaunt. The rich sands attracted Corsola, Shuckles, and Luvdisc who constructed elaborate coral-like homes. Pokemon that the human researchers had never seen before, too small for the naked eye, recycled and replenished these valuable resources. The larger Pokemon unknowningly spreading the seeds of enormous kelp stalks and promoting the growth of the sun-supported plankton particles. It was a rich and vibrant world, the Western Sea; full of color and movement. Until... the creeping black water came.

It floated upon the surface of the water. First, there were but small puddles and streams drifting aimlessly like a lone Tentacool within the ocean current. They never stayed very long, nor did much harm, but Azul the Gastrodon took a note at the change in light beneath it. It blocked the sun's gentle rays from warming the sand; there were various cool spots here and there. It was so scarce that this happened, no one took care of it. But soon, the puddles grew larger and the streams grew longer. The black grew thicker, and thus the waters grew colder and darker. It had shocked the Western Sea community so that old man Tirtouga flapped his flippers about wildly shouting about the end of days; Kyogre and Groudon killing one another in battle, Darkrai's arrival, and Arceus's abandonment of the Pokemon world.

The whole Eastern sea was in an uproar; no one had an answer for where this murky eclipse was coming from. The Horseas and Seadra fanatically blamed the Magikarp for being a burden on society; the Huntails claimed it was Tentacruel terrorism; Tirtouga raved about making sacrifices to the ocean guardian Kyogre and how Pokemon had lost the old ways. The Shellos and Gastrodon, under the advice of their patriarcal leader Azul, to say nothing of their personal views of how this all came about, but as one of the founding species of the Eastern Sea took responsibility to calm its' inhabitants. Negotiations were handled with awkward tenderness at best, but Azul took pride in that the Shellos and Gastrodon prevented the species of the sea from turning full against one another...

However, when the creeping black began to float down from the surface and sink deep into the sea, there was no containing the sea Pokemon's fear and rage. The Remoraid clan was all but nearly wiped out by the rival Carvanha. The Barboach immediately fled. The Clamperl, Huntail, and Gorebyss declared their own territories and rule. The Shellos and Gastrodon family was ostracized and now they spent their time amongst themselves, getting by as best they could.

The Eastern Sea lost its' brightness. The colors faded. The Corsola and Shuckle died or moved up shore, and so the only remains were the dusty color of the sand, and the bone-white structures of abandoned homes... and abandoned relatives. Only the bottom feeders remained until now... which Azul would call 'the very end' ... it was difficult enough for a Shellos or Gastrodon to get a decent meal from the sand. They sifted it through their gills day and night sometimes. The harsh particles rubbed their gills and filters sore to the point they oozed blood and pus. Azul could not bear to see his children suffer anymore.

"Better to forget pride of your homeland than pride of your family, Shell" Azul replied with a cool tone of surrender, "Without family, it is only sand." - and then Azul addressed the members of his Shellos and Gastrodon family, "We leave at midday. Gather the others. The Sea has rejected us. It is Kyogre's will. We search for kinder waters."


End file.
